Narrative sense-making and prospective social action: methodological challenges and new directions

The ways in which humans narratively make sense of their lives shape how they navigate the future. At least, that is what prominent philosophers like Sartre, Ricoeur and MacIntyre proposed. Philosophically this idea has roots in the long-standing thesis of mimesis; like art imitates life and life imitates art in the Aristotelian sense, so do life and stories imitate each other (Bruner, 1987). Despite the tenacity of the idea, relatively little research has explored the relationship empirically. How does narrative sense-making shape prospective social action? How can we best study the interplay between stories told and lives lived? What kind of methodologies can provide the means for social scientists to address questions concerning the future? In this special issue of International Journal of Social Research Methodology we turn our attention to these challenges in recognition of how fundamentally important these questions are. If stories actually shape what we do, then not only individual life trajectories but also collective futures depend upon it.